A long time veteran of the so-called Vauxhall Triangle, Club Colosseum (or The Colosseum as it’s known to some) is a venue that was once frequently graced by the hard house-loving public. Nowadays it’s barely known by the younger generation, and those who used to go complained vehemently about the poor state of the venue. However, the club has been undergoing extensive refurbishment recently, transforming it from a worn-out, second rate venue to one that is suitably up to date with modern standards, and that won’t fail to impress in the hands of the right promoters. Frantic & Nu Religion are taking the place by the reigns on February 10th for Timeless Romance, and the hard dance scene awaits with baited breath to see what the results will be. We took a look around the venue with manager Hulusi Halil.
The Colosseum is owned by Sevan Leisure Holdings — a company that has owned the venue for many years, but not always as a club. “Sevan have had these premises for over 30 years” Hulusi says. “We saw great versatility and potential in its size, layout and location. Initially it was run as a conference and banqueting centre, then about 11 years ago we transformed it into the Colosseum. Since then we’ve hosted every type of club/dance event known to man. We own and run another club at Selhurst Park, in addition to bars, pubs and restaurants. All the key staff have been in the industry more years than they would like to mention.”
Following years of abuse from 100s of 1000s of clubbers, The Colosseum was in dire need of a makeover until recently. The fabric of the building was worn out, the bars were awkwardly designed, and there wasn’t nearly enough seating for a venue of its size. “We’ve completely refurbished, moved and installed new DJ stages, upgraded the lighting, and re-decorated anything that didn’t run away when approached with a paint brush!”
As for future improvements, he’s not resting on his laurels just yet. “We are always renovating and looking to improve....”
Another issue that the venue had was with the programming, and more specifically, the type of nights that they were often dealing with. Many of the more “urban” nights were causing problems, which eventually lead to Hulusi and the rest of his team deciding to steer away from these events and towards the less problematic genres. “We have some fantastic promoters on board now, with hard house nights such as Frantic, plus Salsa events, Bazillion and trance, along with our great gay event promoters.”
Well it wouldn’t really be much of a Vauxhall club without a gay night here and there, would it? The heritage in the area amongst the gay community is undoubtedly strong — with some groundbreaking venues such as The Royal Vauxhall Tavern, which became one of London’s earliest post-WW2 dens of same-sex iniquity. “Vauxhall is an ideal location with easy transport links, and so much going on. It’s like a clubbing village,” Hulusi adds.
With the addition of Area and Barcode to the area along with the refurbishment of The Colosseum, a new lease of life has been injected into Vauxhall in recent times. And in addition, with promotions like Frantic, Innovate and Polysexual all trying out new venues this year, it looks like the hard dance scene and its localities are getting a refreshing kick up the arse in 2007. If Timeless Romance pulls it off, you could be hearing a lot more about The Colosseum this year...
Photos courtesy of Sam Chamberlain and Evolution99. Not to be reproduced without permission.
Frantic’s glorious 10th year starts with a bang on New Year’s Day with our 0101 Party at Vauxhall’s intimate but perfectly formed Hidden – and you lucky people will only have to wait 5 weeks for your next installment of Frantic magic!
Frantic are teaming up with Nu Religion to celebrate Valentine’s Day and the history of the hard dance scene – with nothing but 100% solid gold anthems and 100% classics all night long. The line-up takes in some exclusive, rarely seen sets, headline-grabbing big names and the finest of the new wave of young, passionate hard dance DJs. We’ve got 3 cutting-edge live PAs from K90, Greg Brookman and the superb Eryk Orpheus, big hitters like Rob Tissera, Lisa Pin Up and Phil Reynolds, and the biggest new stars of the last few years like Cally Gage, Andy Whitby and Amber D. Excited? Just wait ‘til you see it in full! Be ready to relive some of the most exciting clubbing moments of your life.
A Timeless Romance will be held at The Colosseum in Vauxhall, South London – a venue which we have used previously but has now been updated to cutting-edge standards. The club has been extensively refurbished in recent years and now looks and feels like never before. Frantic will be decking it out with extra sound, extra lighting, massive lasers, dancers, pyrotechnics and décor throughout the venue to keep with our dress code theme…
We want you all to get involved with the Valentine’s lurve theme and show your support by wearing Red or White in your outfits. We don’t care what you wear – as long as youwear either of both of those colours! Spread the love with Frantic!
Flyer:
-
Region:
London
Music:
Trance. Hard Trance. Psy Trance. Nu NRG. Hi NRG. Hardcore. HardStyle. House. Bouncy House. Funky House. Hard House.
From: paul jackon 31st Jan 2007 21:43.46 looks awesome!
From: Baltazaron 1st Feb 2007 00:20.40 Agreed Mr. Jack. That looks fantastic.
From: Dafon 1st Feb 2007 00:30.55 Looks a lot better than it used to.
Mind you, lets see the photos at 6am afte a big night eh
From: Truepioneeron 1st Feb 2007 02:50.24 Wow!!! big improvment from the last time I saw it
From: Dafon 1st Feb 2007 09:11.34 Like the inclusion of a mop + bucket in one photo.
From: richbowenukon 1st Feb 2007 09:26.15 They've been making improvements for ages and it does look good!!!!
From: g-manon 1st Feb 2007 10:03.52 Impressive can't wait to pay a visit
From: Andy Dunfordon 1st Feb 2007 13:05.17 I love the Colosseum having had many a good night and morning there in the last 2 or 3 years . Shall definitely look out for future events.
From: Aaron_Moorishon 1st Feb 2007 13:19.16 this venue for as long as i can remember!
From: Mizz_behavinon 1st Feb 2007 19:31.32 Looks wicked now
From: ~deleted12163on 2nd Feb 2007 19:51.22 No more Garage events. Well done.
From: JennieRixon 2nd Feb 2007 22:02.42 Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!! See u all there xxxxxxxx
From: Jurraneon 4th Feb 2007 10:35.54 wow.... that looks beautiful. What a refurb!
From: Matt Smallwoodon 4th Feb 2007 18:46.48 Wow, the venue looks phat! The Collosseum was the first club I ever played, back in 1997 for 'Liberty' and 'Enjoy'! It looks amazing now, I think we will be seeing alot more of this venue this year...
From: Jennie Bon 5th Feb 2007 13:13.29 Venue looking much better than I remember it!
Looking forward to Timeless, one event that never dissapoints!
From: scatysamon 5th Feb 2007 23:02.47 OI OI!! LOVE THE LIFE YOU LIVE
LIVE THE LIFE YOU LOVE!!!!!!
From: Hardcore honey!!on 6th Feb 2007 12:52.33 wow.........see you all there!
From: Claire99on 7th Feb 2007 16:24.48 wow ...looks fantastic, roll on Saturday
From: Si Dreadon 7th Feb 2007 19:56.34 Been to the old Colleseum a few times back in the day & always enjoyed it. Looking fwd to a return
From: Steve Twiston 8th Feb 2007 20:31.37 the venue is looking good and i think timeless will work very well here.
From: Jaja Blingon 13th Feb 2007 19:00.16 NAUGHTY VENUE ROOMS COULD BE A BIT BIGGER THO AND IT WOULD BE MY FAV
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